I was wondering how one would go about becoming a life model… and experiences that people have had if they were one. Thought it’d be a good experience for the books. 
Becoming a nude is easy.Take off your clothes.
Wanna be a life model?I’d check round any art colleges to see if they want one. Note:do this BEFORE you show up naked in the middle of their art room.They might not appreciate it.
Then again they might.I do not know your physical appearance
I predict a “Well I can’t be sure without photographic evidence, please send nude pictures of yourself to letsgiveitagowhocaresmaybeshellbite@yahoo.com”-post within 30 minutes.
haha. But no naked pictures for anyone!
I wonder what kind of interviews for the job you would have…
If you want to be nude for money in Australia, boy can I help you out.
But something tells me you really want to restrict it to art classes, so I think you should look in some street magazines and Uni newspapers, etc. I think they probably advertise in rags like that.
I attended art classes in college and the instructors were notably indifferent to the appearance of the nude models they hired: their position was that we should learn to draw all sort of people, not just attractive ones. Bastids! Anyway, contact some college art schools and see if you can get a gig. I haven’t modelled myself, but one of my roommies did and he didn’t find it all that much. Might be different for gals though.
Ex life drawing tutor checks in, yo.
Right, back in Yorkshire where I taught, people directly contacted the art college, and we interviewed like this: You come into the room, there’ll be 3 of us, Hi, how you doing (not in the Joey way), can you take your clothes off please.
You’d be surprised at how many people this weeds out straight away: more than half say ‘what? now? I didnt think I’d have to do this now’ etc, so out they go. If you’re not prepared to take off your clothes in front of adults behnd closed doors, you’re not going to me much good in front of 30 18 year olds.
Be prepared for this if you get a call for an interview with the tutors. After doffing off, they’ll run through some poses and exactly what to expect ie how long can you hold this pose etc.
There is another way however. There are registry/agencies a lot of art colleges now use, rather than direct application. For a small fee, they put you on their books and invite you to a class/seminar on what you’d be expected to do, as above. My housemate (female) has recently done this, and paid £15 to join, and has had 2 jobs so far. Expect around £7-10 an hour for your troubles, or whatever that is in Aussie $.
Saying this, it may run on a different system in Australia, but I wouldn’t have thought it would be too different. Contact a few art colleges and ask them what their policy is, and if they have contact details for any of the registries you can have. Most are fairly helpful in this respect, they tend to change the models around to keep it fresh subject wise.
Also, the best models we used were far from what 36-24-36. Think of yourself as an object, rather than a person. Tutors are looking for interesting bodyshapes - the best we used have been large old ladies & hunchbacks, rather than waif like model types/musclemen - something that will give a good shape and shadow.
And an ability to keep still for longish periods of time also helps.
Hope thats of some use to you GYBRFE
I need an petite young-ish actress (18-30 years old) to appear nude in a short film. She’s dead throughout the film, and needs to be nude for one scene where an amateur tries to embalm her. I want to shoot that scene first to get it out of the way so that we don’t have to worry about it later. (And so that the actress will not change her mind after I’ve already exposed several rolls of expensive film.) I also need a make-up artist who can do post-mortem lividity convincingly.
I figured I’d put a notice in the local alternative newspaper when the time comes.
(I’m being entirely too lazy about getting the project started!)
I have taken several life drawing classes.
One day our model did not show up. The instructor then suggested that we draw hands and that one of us pose our hands. I volunteered, figuring that it might be fun.
Boy was I wrong. It was really hard work. It is really hard to sit in the exact same position for 20 minutes, let alone longer. EEP! and it was just my hands that I was holding in a pose.
Before you commit, you might try it the next time you are watching TV.
A photographer friend of mine wanted to try shooting nudes and I volunteered. I figured it might be interesting to see what it’s like being on the other side of the camera.
The good thing about nude photography is that you don’t have to hold the pose for too long. The bad thing is the, admittedly very slight, chance of it turning into porn. We did some shots in a shower that came a little close to the line. But I think they’ll be alright. I’ll find out when the proofs come back.
Experienced art model checking in. I started modeling one day during art school when our model skipped out for the millionth time. I’ve never fretted about others seeing me naked, so that wasn’t a big deal. After dropping out of college ( :smack: ), I wound up modeling as a job for several other schools and an artists’ group (most of the time modeling was my second job), including a stint at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota during almost my entire pregnancy. Most art students thought it was way cool to have a pregnant model, but I dreaded the sniggers of the males in the freshman classes with their fat jokes.
The worst part about the job, IMHO, is sitting very, very still for long periods of time. It’s difficult to adjust to, even when you think it sounds easy. You can’t itch, you can’t talk, chewing gum is a big no-no, and sometimes parts will fall asleep on you. The no itching thing is the most difficult to get used to. On the positive side, I acquired an almost meditation-like ability to focus and hold completely still. Ignoring an itch is hard and gets progressively more intense as you continue to ignore the sensation. Eventually, it just goes away. Foregoing itches when needed is an ability I still have.
Other positives about the job are seeing how others see you, which is sometimes really cool. One of the illustration students at Ringling gave me a watercolor he’d done of me during a long-term pose when I was nine months pregnant (I sat in the same chair in the same position day in and day out for two weeks’ worth of classes. Since I was pregnant I got breaks every 15 minutes [to go to the bathroom] instead of the traditional 20). During a moment in my life when I was feeling basically like a big, ugly whale and had very low self-esteem, the portrait showed a sublime expression on a beautiful pregnant woman. I was so grateful for the gift of that person’s vision at that particular moment.
The last time I modeled was in 2001 during a brief period of unemployment, when I was 33 years old. It was a lot more physically demanding at that age than at age 24, which was the last time I’d done it prior. Whew.
The way I interviewed was to respond to an ad and tell the interviewer about my prior experience. Since I lucked into my first experience with it, I don’t know what to advise for a first-timer. Perhaps let them know about art classes you’ve taken, artists you know etc. Or maybe you could begin with an artist friend or group of friends whom you can use later as a reference. That could also give you practice in a relatively low-pressure environment and you would get a feel for the experience before trying it in the more pressured setting of art school.
How lovely.
Oddly enough, one the best nudes I ever drew was of my least favorite of our figure-drawing-class models. She was nearly a stick figure and it was very hard to define shape and shadow. I much preferred our male model, who at least had some muscle and curves.
I’m sorry to say that I freaked out a little bit one day when a new model arrived with her baby and proceeded to nurse him as she posed. What can I say – I was an ignorant 19-year-old twit. I wish I had recognized that opportunity for what it was.
Okay, okay, I gotta ask.
For male models, how do you, um, make sure that you remain, err, in exactly the same pose throughout the session? In other words, what do you do about unexpected “movement?”
Yes, I know that it’s not a sexual experience at all. And yes, I know that by the time you hit 20, you stop getting the completely random and unexpected Call To Attention. But still, I know that every once in a while, even in a completely non-sexual environment, Grundy Jr. wakes up and decides he wants to make his presence felt. Am I just still a horny teenager, or do models just have better control over their bodies than I do, or is there some trick to it?
Speaking both as a model and modelee -
Holding a position for an extended period of time takes a rather lot of concentration and can be very physically taxing, it’s not like you’re just standing there. After a while you’ll develop some rather spectacular muscular control.
Regarding male models, I’ve never actually seen a male model get a full blown erection during a session. I suppose I’ve never really concentrated on a model’s penis, but I don’t recall seen a huge amount of movement whatsoever.
I suppose if it happened some of the students might decide to draw it, but most of them probably wouldn’t notice. (Well, unless the guy got some amazing morning wood going on, but I would be surprised if that happened.)
I wanted to add (to the OP), a break every 15-20 minutes has NOT been my experience.
45 minute poses are quite normal, and I’ve done 2 hour poses for some private artists (which is what I’ve mostly done).
Obviously ggurl has posed for nicer people than me!
(Actually, 2 hours isn’t as nightmareish as it sounds, provided it’s not a particularly gymnastic pose you’re holding.)